The present invention relates to cream substitutes. In particular, substantially spheroidally shaped carbohydrate particles have a particle size distribution which causes the particles to mimic the mouthfeel of fat or cream in foods. Additionally, the present invention relates to methods of mimicking the mouthfeel of fat/cream and improved food products containing the present carbohydrate particles as a replacement for all or a portion of the fat/cream usually present in the food.
Fat substitutes are known in the art; for example, sucrose polyesters are a known class of liquid polymers useful as fat substitutes. However, sucrose polyesters are known to leach vitamins from the gut making the vitamins unavailable for use by the body. Additionally, the lower molecular weight sucrose polyesters cause a most distressing condition described in the medical and patent literature as "anal leakage." Anti-anal leakage agents for use in conjunction are also described in the literature to be used in conjunction with sucrose polyester fat substitutes. Higher molecular weight sucrose polyesters having viscous/solid/wax-like properties at the human body temperature of about 100.degree. F. are reported to not cause anal leakage. However, these higher molecular weight sucrose polyesters only exhibit fat-like mouthfeel properties at relatively high temperatures requiring the quick ingestion of the food products containing them before they solidify to turn waxy. The utility of those high molecular weight sucrose polyesters is very limited. See, for example, European Patent Application 87870021.0 (Publication Number 0 236 288, published 9 Sep. 1987) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,600,186; 4,005,196; 3,954,976 and 4,005,195.
Singer, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,287 disclose non-aggregated particles of denatured whey protein as a fat/cream substitute, i.e., substantially smooth emulsion-like organoleptic character. The fat substitutes disclosed by Singer, et al. cannot be used in prolonged high temperature applications, i.e., frying, broiling, baking, because the whey protein particles will massively agglomerate thereby losing the emulsion-like character.
The present invention provides cream substitutes which are generally heat stable and which do not cause anal leakage in a person ingesting them.
It is well known that carbohydrates form gels. Starch and dextran can exist as, or be readily processed into, spheroidal form, such as, for example, SEPHADEX brand cross-linked dextran beads used in column chromatography. The size of these beads ranges from about 0.25 to 10 mm. These spheroidal forms of carbohydrates can be stabilized to the effects of heat, shear and acid. However, the formation of macrocolloidal particles of carbohydrates as described and claimed herein is unknown prior to the present invention.